Inclusive leadership coach Barton Cutter shares why people assume people with disabilities are dumb and how to facilitate understanding and listening.

It was finally time to do Disney.
My brother was getting remarried in Florida, I’ve somehow crept into my early 40s, and I don’t travel much and like traveling even less. If I was getting close to Disney World, I was going.

It starts as soon as I wake up each morning. The feeling that I’m being stabbed, stung by 1,000 bees and burnt alive.

As many parts of the country are being blanketed with snow, the importance of keeping sidewalks and curb cuts clear becomes paramount.

Spend a week or a decade in a wheelchair, chances are you’ll be asked some pretty crazy things. And I get why–people are uncomfortable around things that are different, especially wheelchairs. (Even more so if they don’t know anyone who uses a wheelchair on a personal level).

Going out in public is often riddled with obstacles for people with physical disabilities. While this is largely due to inaccessible structures like stairs and narrow doors, so many unnecessary barriers are created by able-bodied people who place themselves where they shouldn’t be. That’s not to say I believe I should have access to special privileges because of my disability. Rather, reserved access locations are intended to give people with disabilities equal opportunities to experience the world around them. Here are four accessible places where able-bodied people should never be:

I’m pretty sure not a week goes by where I’m not subjected to remarks about my disability. Now, before I even get into this topic, I’m going to politely put forth my counter-argument to the inevitable responses that I’m being nit-picky about semantics or complaining unnecessarily about comments made by well-meaning able-bodied people. I believe that if you truly mean well, you’ll consider how it feels for people with disabilities to be gawked at, subjected to ridiculous comments or prodded for our life stories, and perhaps stop to think about whether it’s appropriate to blurt out a nosey question.

Discussing disabilities may feel like trying to avoid metaphorical tripwires.
One innocent misstep and an able-bodied person may receive a tongue lashing just for saying “handicap vehicle” instead of “wheelchair accessible vehicle.”

To help you sidestep situations like the one above, note the following tips when discussing disabilities.

Since starting the journey of blogging about disability, I’ve received so many poignant and engaging comments on my posts. I’ve been supported and encouraged, as well as challenged to think in new ways.

Nine disability-related charities were ranked among the 50 worst in the country in a recent study.